Method and system for monitoring a location

ABSTRACT

A method and system for monitoring a location via a called telephony communication device is disclosed. The method at the called telephony communication device includes receiving a request from a calling telephony communication device. Further, the method includes determining whether the received request is for monitoring the location. The method further includes automatically transmitting audio/video data captured via the called telephony communication device to the calling telephony communication device when the received request is determined to be one for monitoring the location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/468,030 entitled “Method and System for Monitoring a Location,” filedAug. 25, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/616,352, entitled “Method and System for Monitoring a Location,”filed Dec. 27, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,817,951, issued Aug. 26, 2014,all of which is are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to surveillance, and more specifically,to a method and system for monitoring a location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication networks are becoming increasingly popular with anincrease in the need for communication and information exchange. Acommunication network can include a plurality of communication devices.Some examples of the communication networks include a computer network,the Internet-Protocol based network, a public-switched telephonenetwork, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, and a globalsystem for mobile communication (GSM) network. Some examples of thecommunication devices include personal computers, mobile phones, laptopcomputers, video phones, landline phones and Personal Digital Assistants(PDAs). A communication device in the communication network can receivea request from another communication device to provide informationrelated to the request. For example, a personal computer can receive arequest from a mobile phone to provide audio/video content related tothe request, via the Internet. The audio/video content of a location maybe required when a location needs to be monitored. For example, manypeople want to monitor their houses when they are away on a vacation orat their workplace.

In one of the known techniques for monitoring a location, use of adedicated monitoring system is required. In this technique, aclosed-circuit television (CCTV) is used for monitoring. Therefore, thededicated monitoring system can be expensive or incur extra cost. Inlight of the above mentioned discussion, there is a need for a systemthat is cost-effective and does not involve use of a dedicatedmonitoring system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, and which together with the detailed description below, areincorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to furtherillustrate various embodiments and explain various principles andadvantages, all in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network, in accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a telephony communication device, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for monitoring a locationvia a called telephony communication device, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for monitoring a locationvia a called telephony communication device, in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements, to help inimproving an understanding of various embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For one embodiment, a method for monitoring a location Via a calledtelephony communication device is provided. The method at the calledtelephony communication device includes receiving a request from acalling telephony communication device. The method also includesdetermining whether the received request is for monitoring the location.Further, the method includes automatically transmitting audio/video datacaptured via the called telephony communication device to the callingtelephony communication device when the received request is determinedto be one for monitoring the location.

For another embodiment, a telephony communication device is provided.The telephony communication device includes a receiver that is adaptedto receive a request from a calling telephony communication device. Thetelephony communication device also includes a processor that is adaptedto determine whether the request is for monitoring a location. Further,the telephony communication device includes a camera that is adapted tocapture video data of the location based upon the determination that thereceived request is for monitoring the location. Moreover, the telephonycommunication device includes a transmitter that is adapted toautomatically transmit the captured video data to the calling telephonycommunication device in response to the determination that the receivedrequest is for monitoring the location.

For yet another embodiment, a telephony communication device isprovided. The telephony communication device includes a receiver that isadapted to receive a request from a calling telephony communicationdevice. The telephony communication device also includes a processorthat is adapted to determine whether the request is for monitoring alocation. Further, the telephony communication device includes at leastone a microphone and one or more telemetry sensor devices. Themicrophone is adapted to capture audio data of the location based uponthe determination that the received request is for monitoring thelocation. Moreover, the telephony communication device includes atransmitter that is adapted to automatically transmit the captured audiodata to the calling telephony communication device in response to thedetermination that the received request is for monitoring the location.Further, the transmitter is adapted to automatically transmit a datacaptured by the one or more telemetry sensor devices.

Before describing in detail the particular method and system formonitoring a location, in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention, it should be observed that the present inventionresides primarily in combinations of method steps and system componentsrelated to monitoring a location. Accordingly, the system componentshave been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in thedrawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent for anunderstanding of the present invention, so as not to obscure thedisclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those withordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the description herein.

In this document, relational terms such as first and second, and thelike, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action fromanother entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying anyactual relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms‘comprises,’ ‘comprising,’ ‘includes,’ or any other variation, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does notinclude only those elements but may include other elements that are notexpressly listed or inherent to such a process, method, article, orapparatus. An element proceeded by ‘comprises . . . a’, does not,without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identicalelements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprisesthe element. The term ‘another,’ as used in this document, is defined asat least a second or more. The terms ‘includes’ and/or ‘having’, as usedherein, are defined as comprising.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100, in accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention. The communicationnetwork 100 can include a plurality of communication devices. Examplesof the communication network 100 can include, but are not limited to, anIEEE 802.16-based broadband wireless access network, an advanced mobilephone systems (AMPS) network, a global system for mobile communications(GSM) network, a digital cellular systems (DCS) network, a universalmobile telecommunication system (UMTS) network, a code division multipleaccess (CDMA) network, a Public-switched telephone network using H.324,the Internet-Protocol (IP) based network, and any other wired orwireless network that can support telephony. For the purpose of thisdescription, the communication network 100 is shown to include atelephony communication device 102, and a communication device 104 at alocation 106. The communication network 100 is also shown to include atelephony communication device 108. The telephony communication device108 can be located at a distance from the location 106. For example, thetelephony communication device 108 can be located at a workplace of auser and/or at a public place. Examples of the telephony communicationdevice 102 and the telephony communication device 108 can include, butare not limited to, a video phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),and a mobile phone. Examples of the communication device 104 caninclude, but are not limited to, a mobile phone, a laptop computer, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabledphone, a video-broadcast system, and a video phone.

For one embodiment, the telephony communication device 102 can receive arequest from the telephony communication device 108 to monitor. Forexample, when a user is away to his/her workplace, the user can requestthe telephony communication device 102 via the telephony communicationdevice 108, to monitor his/her bedroom at the location 106. Similarly,the communication device 104 can make a request to the telephonycommunication device 102 to monitor the bedroom. For example, when theuser is busy in the kitchen and wants to monitor his/her baby in thebedroom, the user can request the telephony communication device 102 viathe communication device 104. For one embodiment, the communicationdevice 104 can request the telephony communication device 102 via ashort-range communication link. Examples of the short- rangecommunication link include, but are not limited to, an infraredcommunication link, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication link orother direct-wired link, a Bluetooth™, and a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi)communication link.

FIG. 2 is the telephony communication device 102 for monitoring alocation, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.The telephony communication device 102 includes a receiver 202, aprocessor 204, a camera 206, a transmitter 208, and a microphone 210.Examples of the telephony communication device 102 can include, but arenot limited to, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone.The receiver 202 is adapted to receive a request from a callingtelephony communication device, for example, the telephony communicationdevice 108. For one embodiment, the receiver 202 can receive the requestfrom the calling telephony communication device via aninternet-protocol. For one embodiment, the telephony communicationdevice 102 provides no audible alert signal in response to the requestreceived from the calling telephony communication device. The receiver202 provides the received request to the processor 204.

The processor 204 is adapted to determine whether the request receivedfrom the calling telephony communication device is for monitoring thelocation. When the processor 204 determines that the request received isfor monitoring the location, video data of the location can be capturedby the camera 206. Examples of the camera 206 include, but are notlimited to, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) imagesensor and a charge-coupled device (CCD) type camera. The video datacaptured by the camera 206 can be automatically transmitted to thecalling telephony communication device by the transmitter 208 inresponse to the processor 204 determining that the request received isfor monitoring the location.

For one embodiment, the processor 204 is adapted to authenticate thecalling telephony communication device. The processor 204 canauthenticate the calling telephony communication device based on alocation of the calling telephony communication device, its identity, apassword entered at the calling telephony communication device, and/or abiometric parameter sampled at the calling telephony communicationdevice. Examples of the biometric parameter sample can include, but arenot limited to, a fingerprint pattern, an eye retina pattern, a facialpattern, and hand measurement of a user of the calling telephonycommunication device.

Audio data of the location 106 can be captured by the microphone 210,when the processor 204 determines that the received request is formonitoring the location. Further, the captured audio data can betransmitted to the calling telephony communication device by thetransmitter 208. Examples of the microphone 210 can include, but are notlimited to, a carbon microphone, a ribbon microphone and a piezomicrophone.

For one embodiment, the telephony communication device 102 can includeone or more telemetry sensor devices, for example, a telemetry sensordevice 212. The one or more telemetry sensor devices can capture datarelated to the location, for example, a temperature, humidity, and apressure of the location. For example, the telemetry sensor device 212can capture temperature of the location 106. Further, the one or moretelemetry sensor devices can also capture the infra- red movement at thelocation.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for monitoring a locationvia a called telephony communication device, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The method for monitoring thelocation via the called telephony communication device is initiated atstep 302. For example, a bedroom at the location 106 can be monitoredvia the telephony communication device 102. The called telephonycommunication device receives a request from a calling telephonycommunication device at step 304. For example, the telephonycommunication device 102 can receive a request from either or both thecommunication device 104 and the telephony communication device 108, tomonitor the bedroom. At step 306, the called telephony communicationdevice can determine whether the received request is for monitoring thelocation. If it is determined at step 306, that the received request isfor monitoring the location, the called telephony communication deviceautomatically transmits the audio/video data to the calling telephonycommunication device at step 308. For one embodiment, a simplextransmission of the audio/video data can occur from the called telephonycommunication device to the calling telephony communication device. Inthis embodiment, once the calling telephony communication device startsmonitoring the location, no data, for example, audio data is transmittedfrom the calling telephony communication device to the called telephonycommunication device. As a result, a user of the calling communicationtelephony communication device can monitor the location withoutdisturbing, for example, a baby sleeping at the location. Thereafter,the method is terminated at step 310.

If it is determined at step 306, that the received request does notpertain to monitoring the location, but is a routine/normalcommunication session, the method is terminated at step 310. Examples ofthe routine/normal communication session can include, but are notlimited to, a voice call, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) call, apush-to-talk session, a data session, an Internet session, a filedownload, a web-browsing session, a net-meeting session, a voiceconference, and a video conference.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for monitoring alocation, via a called telephony communication device, in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention. Examples of the calledtelephony communication device and the calling telephony communicationdevice can include, but are not limited to, a video phone, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), and a mobile phone. The method at the calledtelephony communication device is initiated at step 402. At step 404,the called telephony communication device can receive a request from thecalling telephony communication device. For example, the telephonycommunication device 102 can receive a request from the telephonycommunication device 108. For one embodiment, the request can bereceived by the calling telephony communication device via an Internetprotocol. The internet-protocol is a data-oriented protocol used totransmit data across a computer network and a telecommunication network.For one embodiment, the receiver 202 of the called telephonycommunication device can receive the request from the calling telephonycommunication device.

For one embodiment, the called telephony communication device does notprovide an audible alert signal in response to the request received fromthe calling telephony communication device. At step 406, the calledtelephony communication device determines whether the request receivedfrom the calling telephony communication device is for monitoring alocation. For one embodiment, the processor 204 can determine whetherthe request is for monitoring the location.

If it is determined at the step 406 that the received request is formonitoring the location, the called telephony communication device canauthenticate the calling telephony communication device at step 408. Theprocessor 204 of the called telephony communication device canauthenticate the calling telephony communication device. For oneembodiment, the calling telephony communication device can beauthenticated based on its location. For example, when the telephonycommunication device 102 located in bedroom of the location 106 receivesa request from the communication device 104 located in the kitchen, itis apparent that the request is made by an authenticated person, forexample, an owner of the location 106. Thereby, the telephonycommunication device 102 can authenticate the communication device 104.

For another embodiment of the present invention, the calling telephonycommunication device can be authenticated by using an identity of thecalling telephony communication device. Examples of the identity caninclude, but are not limited to, a telephone number of the callingtelephony communication device and an authorization code of the callingtelephony communication device. Further, the calling telephonycommunication device can be authenticated based on a password entered atthe calling telephony communication device and a biometric parametersampled at the calling telephony communication device. Examples of thebiometric parameter can include, but are not limited to, a fingerprintpattern, an eye retina pattern, facial pattern, and hand measurement ofa user of the calling telephony communication device. For example, auser of the communication device 104 can sample his/her fingerprintpattern at a fingerprint sensor of the communication device 104. Thesampled fingerprint pattern can be transmitted to the called telephonycommunication device. The called telephony communication device canmatch the received fingerprint pattern with a list of fingerprintpatterns stored at the called telephony communication device. If thefingerprint pattern received, match against a fingerprint pattern in thestored list of fingerprint patterns, the calling telephony communicationdevice can be authenticated.

If the calling telephony communication device is authenticated at step408, step 410 is performed. At the step 410, the called telephonycommunication device captures audio/video data of the location. For oneembodiment, the audio data can be captured by using the microphone 210and the video data by using the camera 206. Further, the calledtelephony communication device can capture data of the location usingone or more telemetry sensor devices. Examples of the data can include,but are not limited to, a temperature, humidity, and a pressure of thelocation. The captured audio/video data and/or the data captured by theone or more telemetry sensor devices of the location are automaticallytransmitted to the calling telephony communication device at step 412.For example, the telephony communication device 102 can transmitaudio/video data of the bedroom at the location 106 to the communicationdevice 104 when the communication device 104 has been authenticated bythe telephony communication device 102. For one embodiment, the calledtelephony communication device can compress the video data beforeautomatically transmitting using a codec. Examples of the codec include,but are not limited to, H.261, H.263, H.264, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4.Thereafter, the method is terminated at step 414.

If it is determined at the step 406, that the request received is doesnot pertain to monitoring the location, the method is terminated at step414.

The flow diagram provided above can be understood by considering thesituation of a mother who wants to monitor her baby in the bedroom ofthe location 106, when she is busy in the kitchen. The mother can callthe telephony communication device 102 by using the communication device104. The telephony communication device 102 can automatically answer thecommunication device 104 without an audio alert signal, since the audioalert signal may wake up the baby. The telephony communication device102, after authenticating the communication device 104 can automaticallytransmit audio/video data relating to the baby from the bedroom. For oneembodiment, the telephony communication device 102 can authenticate thecommunication device 104 based on its location, that is the kitchen ofthe location 106.

Various embodiments, as described above, provide a method and system formonitoring a location. The present invention is cost-effective since itenables the use of commonly used telephony communication devices asmonitoring devices. The present invention provides a system that isuser-friendly since the telephony communication device is installed atdifferent locations in households and at workplaces. Various embodimentsprovide a secure way for monitoring a location, since only anauthenticated user can monitor the location. Further, the telephonycommunication device can automatically answer a request for monitoringthe location without providing an audible alert signal. One embodimentprovides a simplex transmission of audio/video data from a calledtelephony communication device to the calling telephony communicationdevice. As a result, user of the calling telephony communication devicecan monitor a baby sleeping at the location without disturbing the baby.Further, a user can monitor his home or office while traveling. The usercan also monitor his pets and children when away from home. Furthermore,the user can monitor his vacation homes from his home during storms.

In the foregoing specification, the invention and its benefits andadvantages have been described with reference to specific embodiments.However, one with ordinary skill in the art would appreciate thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims.Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) thatmay cause any benefit, advantage or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all of the claims. The invention isdefined solely by the appended claims, including any amendments madeduring the pendency of this application and all equivalents of thoseclaims as issued.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving from anelectronic device a request to access an audio/video device locatedremotely from the electronic device via an Internet-Protocol (IP) basednetwork, the audio/video device including a camera, microphone andspeaker; determining whether the received request is for monitoring alocation via the audio/video device or for engaging in a two-waycommunication session, wherein the audio/video device is present at thelocation to be monitored; in accordance with a determination that thereceived request is for monitoring the location: capturing video data bythe camera of the audio/video device; and automatically transmitting thevideo data captured by the audio/video device to the electronic devicevia a one way communication; and in accordance with a determination thatthe received request is for engaging in a two-way communication session,exchanging audio or video data between the electronic device and theaudio/video device via the IP-based network.
 2. The method as recited inclaim 1 further comprising the audio/video device authenticating theelectronic device.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein theauthenticating is based on at least one of: determining a location ofthe electronic device; an identity of the electronic device; a passwordentered at the electronic device; and a biometric parameter sampled atthe electronic device.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theaudio/video device is one of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and amobile phone.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the two-waycommunication session is one of a voice call, a Voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP) call, a push-to-talk session, a data session, anInternet session, a file download, a web-browsing session, a net-meetingsession, a voice conference, and a video conference.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the request is received via aninternet-protocol.
 7. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinaudio/video device provides no audible alert signal in response to thereceived request from the electronic device.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein receiving the request from the electronic device comprisesreceiving a request via an intermediate communication device over awireless communication network.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theintermediate communication device is configured to communicativelycouple to the electronic device via a wide area wireless communicationnetwork and communicatively couple to the audio/video device via a localarea wireless communication network or a short range wirelesscommunication network.
 10. An audio/video device, comprising: a receiveradapted to receive from an electronic device a request to access theaudio/video device via an Internet-Protocol (IP) based network, whereinthe audio/video device is located remotely from the electronic device; aprocessor adapted to determine whether the received request is formonitoring a location via the audio/video device or for engaging in atwo-way communication session, wherein the audio/video device is presentat the location to be monitored; a microphone and a camera adapted tocapture video data of the location upon the determination that therequest is for monitoring the location; a speaker; and a transmitteradapted to: (1) in accordance with a determination that the receivedrequest is for monitoring the location, automatically transmit the videodata captured by the audio/video device to the electronic device via aone way communication, and (2) in accordance with a determination thatthe received request is for engaging in a two-way communication session,exchanged audio or video data with the electronic device via theIP-based network.
 11. The audio/video device as recited in claim 10,wherein the processor is further adapted to authenticate the electronicdevice.
 12. The audio/video device as recited in claim 10 furthercomprising a microphone adapted to capture audio data, and wherein thetransmitter is further adapted to automatically transmit the capturedaudio data to the electronic device in response to the determinationthat the received request is for monitoring the location.
 13. Theaudio/video device as recited in claim 10, wherein the receiver receivesthe request via an internet-protocol.
 14. The audio/video device asrecited in claim 10, wherein the audio/video device is one of a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA) and a mobile phone.
 15. The audio/video deviceas recited in claim 10, wherein the audio/video device is configured tocapture environment data at the location, and the environment dataincludes at least a temperature of the location.
 16. The audio/videodevice of claim 10, wherein the audio/video device is configured tocapture infrared movement occurring at the location.
 17. The audio/videodevice of claim 10, wherein the receiver is configured to receive therequest from the electronic device via an intermediate communicationdevice over a wireless communication network.
 18. The audio/video deviceof claim 17, wherein the receiver is configured to communicativelycouple to the intermediate communication device via a local areawireless communication network or a short range wireless communication.19. A monitoring device comprising: a receiver adapted to receive froman electronic device a request to access the monitoring device via anInternet-Protocol (IP) based network, wherein the monitoring device islocated remotely from the electronic device; a processor adapted todetermine whether the received request is for monitoring a location viathe monitoring device or for engaging in a two-way communicationsession, wherein the monitoring device is present at the location to bemonitored; a camera adapted to capture video data of the location uponthe determination that the request is for monitoring the location; aspeaker; one or more telemetry sensor devices adapted to capture sensingdata upon the determination that the request is for monitoring thelocation; and a transmitter adapted to in accordance with adetermination that the received request is for monitoring the location,automatically transmit the video data captured by the camera via a oneway communication and transmit the sensing data captured by the one ormore telemetry sensor devices to the electronic device.
 20. Themonitoring device as recited in claim 19, further comprising amicrophone adapted to capture audio data, and wherein the transmitter isfurther adapted to automatically transmit the captured audio data to theelectronic device in accordance with a determination that the receivedrequest is for monitoring the location, and in accordance with adetermination that the received request is for engaging in a two-waycommunication session, audio or video data is exchanged between theelectronic device and the monitoring device via the IP-based network.